The Translator as a Communicator: Bracketed Insertions Eliciting Mutual Cooperation with Receptors

The present study aims at observing how bracketed insertions in translation elicit mutual cooperation with receptors. As a survey-based study applying to an officially approved English interpretation of the Quran, it seeks to examine whether any insertions in brackets hinder the SL message from being well-conveyed and for what reasons they may be left out of it. Methodically, a multifaceted, self-administered questionnaire including two text-types of the Quran with an identical set of questions per each was completed by 73 potential English-speaking readers. Found to be generally cooperative, the subject insertions were agreed to be true (78.8%) and informative (74.7%) in favor of the Madani text but not to be relevant (72.6%) nor perspicuous (76.9%) in favor of the Makki one. They were helping to those having any knowledge of Arabic, translating and the Quran yet hindering to those having no knowledge of Arabic, translating or the Quran. The technical insertions depending on the translator’s view of an appropriate relationship between the author’s text and the TL version were the most frequent ones to be left out in favor of the Madani text for ‘saying irrelevant, unimportant things’. Eventually, an improved interpretation is recommended as many TAiPs could be included, adapted, modified or excluded.INTRODUCTIO